Local company 989 Design has come out with T-shirts that give our town a great, big hug.

Their graphic, with a design that Milton Glaser made famous in a similar graphic for New York City, boldly states: "I (Heart) BC."

We sure do!

Like the Big Apple, Bay City has its problems, but when it comes down to it, it's our home. And we're darned proud of it.

Time was not too long ago it was hard to find anything -- T-shirts, coffee mugs -- that even stated the name of our town.

In recent years, though, hometown pride can be found on more and more knickknacks.

These T-shirts caught our eye, particularly because of our experience in the past couple of years wearing one out of town that simply states, "Bay City, Michigan." It's guaranteed to elicit a response.

In South Dakota's Wall Drug: "Hey! Are you really from Bay City? So are we!" (Never did get their names.) In a gas station somewhere in the Great Plains, a guy says: "We're from Saginaw!"

In Myrtle Beach, S.C., a souvenir vendor: "My mother's family comes from Bay City; always meant to go there some day."

That old T-shirt is wearing thin. Looks like we'll be going online to baycitytees.wordpress.com and ordering one of these new ones.

We wouldn't want to miss a minute of the fun when traveling outside the state, or proclaiming our hometown right here in Bay City.